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FAMU football obliterated by Florida Atlantic's offensive attack in 56-14 Week 2 loss
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- FAMU football obliterated by Florida Atlantic's offensive attack in 56-14 Week 2 loss
Not much went well for Florida A&M football on Saturday, Sept. 6.
In their Week 2 game, the Rattlers (0-2) were walloped 56-14 by the Florida Atlantic Owls (1-1) on Howard Schnellenberger Field at Flagler Credit Union Stadium.
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FAU outgained FAMU 553-296 before a Week 2 Boca Raton Crowd of 21,029 for the Football Championship Subdivision versus Football Bowl Subdivision game.
"When you play a team like this, you've got to be perfect from the beginning to the end," FAMU's second-year head coach James Colzie III told the media after the game.
"We got down too much to try to put a dent in any of this."
FAMU starting quarterback RJ Johnson III completed 18 of 28 passes for 222 yards and threw touchdowns. FAU quarterback Caden Veltkamp had 27 completions on 39 attempts for 309 yards and five touchdowns.
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FAMU football's offense starts off slow, awakens in second half
The Rattlers' offense looked lethargic, only posting 73 yards in the first half.
"Offensive just couldn't get any rhythm. A couple of bad snaps, a couple of missed throws," Colzie recalled.
Two FAMU quarterbacks appeared in the first half, with Johnson playing most of it and backup Jett Peddy subbing in for two drives .
Peddy also finished the game for the Rattlers. He completed one pass on seven attempts for five yards.
"Sometimes it's better to watch," Colzie explained his reason for taking out Johnson. "Thought it was the best opportunity to get Jett in there. Jett's been working his tail off all week for this opportunity. RJ was able to watch a little bit, get back on the iPad, and start looking at some things."
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FAMU rushed for 69 yards on 30 attempts, led by Jamal Hailey's five carries for 46 yards.
FAMU picked up the pace in the second half by outgaining FAU with 223 yards compared to 220.
Johnson passed the Rattlers' first two touchdowns of the 2025 season, with a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamar Taylor and a 65-yarder to Jordan Edwards .
Florida A&M wide receiver Jamar Taylor (13) catches a touchdown pass during the second half of a 56-14 victory over Florida A&M at FAU Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Boca Raton, FL.
"You wish the rhythm would have been a little better earlier in the game," Colzie said. "Hopefully, we can carry it over to next week."
FAMU football's defense not enough for FAU QB Caden Veltkamp
FAMU had no answer for FAU quarterback Caden Veltkamp.
Florida Atlantic quarterback Caden Veltkamp (10) passes during first half action at FAU Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Boca Raton, FL.
The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm candidate had five touchdown passes, with two apiece going to Dom Henry and Asaad Waseem.
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FAU had 10 different receivers catch passes, with seven getting multiple touches.
The Owls ran an uptempo, fast-paced offense, led by their first-year head coach Zach Kittley. Kittley is Texas Tech's former offensive coordinator.
"When you're playing a team like that, as talented as they are, you've got to be able to cover sideline to sideline," Colzie said. "At times we did, at times we didn't."
Special teams prevent FAMU football scoring opportunities, leads to one for FAU
Florida Atlantic defensive end Josh Roberts (96) blocks a punt that was returned for a touchdown during the first half of a 56-14 victory over Florida A&M at FAU Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Boca Raton, FL.
The Rattlers' special teams had some mishaps that impacted the game.
In the first quarter, FAMU was forced to punt while pinned in its own territory. Rattlers punter Bobby Engstler was rushed by the Owls' return team and had his punt blocked, which was recovered for a touchdown by Lawrence Johnson .
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FAU went up 15-0 after the special teams score.
"Anytime you get into a game like this, special teams have to be strong," Colzie said. "They blocked a punt and momentum shifts entirely."
FAMU had an opportunity to put its first score on the board before halftime.
However, Daniel Porto's 38-yard attempt got chipped by an FAU defender, making the Rattlers go into the break down 39-0.
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee .
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU football blown out by Florida Atlantic in Week 2 game
